It is a bizarre mark of progress that America's level of economic inequality has become so chronic and severe that even the Republican party realizes it must present some sort of proposal to address the economic underclass. It's like watching a gaggle of nuns plot out a sex-education curriculum.

The 50th anniversary of Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty" has prompted a bout of national soul-searching about how much progress we've really made. If we're actually interested in helping the poor, we should look even farther back in history, and resurrect the WPA.

Last weekend, unemployment benefits ran out for 1.3 million Americans who have been out of work more than six months. This week, 13 states will raise their minimum wage. As 2013 draws to a close, the class war rages on. At least one nation on earth has a bold idea about what to do

In 2013, we heard true stories from lots of people who were, to varying degrees, going through hard times. Military veterans. Workers at various low-wage jobs. Unemployed people. Let's remember a few of the year's most memorable true stories.

This month, Barack Obama gave a speech vowing to make curbing income and wealth inequality a top priority for the remainder of his time in office. He better get to work. As of 2011, he was headed in the opposite direction.

The very rich have their politicians, and the very poor have their advocates. Will someone speak for the lower middle class? How retro!

Last week, voters in SeaTac, Washington voted to raise the minimum wage for airport workers to $15 an hour. California recently approved a statewide minimum wage of $10. As low wage workers increasingly voice their frustration with their shitty lot in life, it's time to raise the minimum wage— everywhere.

Voters in Switzerland this weekend rejected a proposal to limit CEO pay to 12 times that of the lowest-paid worker. An insane idea? "In Germany nearly three quarters would support such pay curbs, according to a poll."

In America, the average CEO is paid more than 230 times an average worker's salary. In Switzerland, CEOs are paid 43 times more than the average worker. That figure is so shocking to the Swiss that they want to radically rein it in.

In Slate today, Matt Yglesias argues that anti-Wall Street populism is counterproductive, because it will cut Wall Street's profits, leaving less tax revenue for the populist government, thereby hurting the populist cause. It's worth pointing out briefly that this is incorrect.

The new Pope, Francis: great guy. He loves the poor. He's cool with atheists. He's even pretty chill about gay marriage and abortions. Yesterday's photos of him embracing a severely disfigured man were genuinely touching. Still, the best thing that this nice Pope could do would be to dismantle the Catholic Church.

If you are lucky enough to have financial means and plenty of leisure time and a lack of more pressing responsibilities, you may be able to focus all of your energies on designing your "lifestyle" to your own utmost satisfaction. Congratulations on your good fortune. This does not qualify as a "job."

The gross economic inequality in America gets quite a bit of attention, at least from the non-rich. But when you look at the distribution of wealth in the entire world, the picture gets even more shocking.

Tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of the federal income tax. Thank you, federal income tax, for all the things you have bought this country, except the wars! On this auspicious anniversary, here are five tax ideas to make the next 100 years even better.

The American way of retirement is crumbling. Private pensions are disappearing. Public pensions are crumbling. Instead of clawing and fighting to save them as they slip away, populists and progressives should just let them die. No one needs pensions. Everyone needs a pension.

As of 2011, the average CEO was paid 230 times the salary of an average worker at his company. Today, the SEC proposed a rule to require companies to report that ratio every year. What should it be? A modest proposal: 100-1.

Five years ago today, the front pages were just a catalog of panicky headlines about the meltdown of America's finances. Today, things have changed: headlines note that only some groups of Americans are financially doomed.

New figures from Forbes show that the Waltons of Wal-Mart, the world's greediest family, are now collectively worth $145 billion, a gain of more than $40 billion since last year. Wal-Mart continues to fight against unions and living wage proposals.

Four members of the Walton family, heirs to Sam Walton's Wal-Mart fortune, are collectively worth more than $100 billion— more wealth than the entire bottom 40% of Americans. They are doing everything in their power not to give up a penny more than they have to.

Though the possibility of a runoff remains, it looks very likely that the New York City mayoral race will pit Bill de Blasio, a progressive, tax-the-rich liberal, against Joe Lhota, a Republican seen as the "last, best hope for salvaging the business-friendly government of the Bloomberg era." Are you ready for a real live class war? Now, we get one.